A Series of Lamentable Events
by Miss Singing in the Rain
Summary: It's been twenty years since the end of Bane's occupation and between training the Sons of the Batman, Batgirl, Robin, Spoiler, and a new Batman, Jenna and John Dawes-Blake have their hands full. But when a girl who looks like two people who are dead to the world shows up on their doorstep, they find themselves thrust into yet another series of incredible, and lamentable, events.
1. New Blood

**A/N: IT'S HERE! IT'S HERE! THE FINAL CHAPTER OF "A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS" IS HERE! Ok, three new characters, the guy's played by Nicholas Hoult, the older Asian woman's played by Ming-Na Wen, and the girl's played by Ellen Page, and of course, all the old characters and their actors are returning (if you're new then the characters' castings are on my profile). Apart from that, can't think of anything else to say, except for thank you for reading and please review and enjoy!**

New Blood

The streets of Gotham were illuminated, the puddles of rain water giving the roads an eerie glow. A violet convertible car shot down the avenue, the clowns riding in it firing automatic weapons behind them as the police cars pursued them.

"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE, COPPERS!" the Joker cried, he and his men firing at the cars with gusto. Suddenly, three motorcycles in black, violet, and red, pulled out of side streets to join the chase. The Joker grinned and motioned to his driver to pick up the pace, an order he swiftly obeyed. The Clown Prince of Crime quickly brought out a bag of grenades and other goodies and started launching them out the back at the advancing vigilantes. They dodged the blasts and continued to gain ground, until they were side by side with the violet vehicle. The Joker's driver tried to ram them off the road as the clowns fired on them, but the masked defenders avoided the shots and retaliated with some of their own, using Batarangs, small mines, and the end of their electrified staffs to blow the tires on both sides. Both the front and back ends of the car scraped the pavement as the tires gave way beneath them and the car quickly spun out of control, eventually turning wildly and hitting a wall. The rest of his gang unconscious from the impact, the Joker rolled out of his totaled convertible and flopped on his back, looking up to find three vigilantes' Batarangs pointing in his face as the police cars pulled up behind them.

"Foul. I call foul," the Joker moaned from his place on the ground. That didn't stop several GCPD officers from slapping cuffs on his wrists, after verifying that he had no other weapons on him. The sound of other sirens coming closer caught everyone's ears and the head officer headed over to the vigilantes, tipping his hat to them when he stopped.

"You'd better get gone before Yin gets here. And thanks," he said.

"Don't mention it," Spoiler said. The cop nodded and turned to leave, but Spoiler grabbed his arm stop him. "Seriously. _Don't_." The officer smiled and nodded and Spoiler released him, kicking her bike back to life along with her comrades.

"Catch you later Batbrats!" the Joker yelled over his shoulder as the trio of young vigilantes took of into the night.

* * *

Batgirl, Robin, and Spoiler walked into the now main Batcave that lay in the basement of Wayne Enterprises, which was now even larger than the days of the original Batman. It now went down several more floors and had many new training grounds for the high level Sons of the Batman, including mazes, manmade jungles, hallucination rooms, training mats, and a T-Rex animatronic that they'd gotten cheap at the Cyrus Pinkney Museum auction after the Penguin's unfortunate demise, all of which were being used by the training teens and young adults. The trio of young vigilantes made their way through the tumbling trainees toward mission control, in the form of several computer monitors bolted to the walls, a woman wearing reading glasses and a red wig in a wheelchair at the helm of everyone. On the monitors were news reports of natural disasters, warzones, crimes, and peace conferences. But the main one, right in front of the seated woman, held the image of an older Asian woman at a press conference.

"Despite Gotham's history of crime, I believe our only recourse is law _enforcement_. I will not participate in the activities of a vigilante. Therefore, as your police commissioner, I issue an arrest warrant for the Batman and all other Gotham City vigilantes on charges of breaking and entering, assault and battery, creating a public menace –" The woman then changed the footage to later coverage of another press conference.

"Commissioner, it has been six years since you have taken your position on vigilantes and in spite of the Batman and other vigilantes continued helping of the GCPD in capturing and taking down criminals, you maintain your position as Anti-Batman. Don't you think the Batman's help should offer him some reprieve?" a dark haired man wearing a suit and glasses interrogated.

"He wants to support law and order? Then he should take off the mask and put on a uniform," Commissioner Ellen Yin said. "Not only does Batman create these so called 'super criminals', he takes it upon himself to be their judge and jury with no regards to the legal system."

"So you maintain your position?" the dark haired reporter said.

"And I always will." Oracle sighed and turned off the footage, which was then replaced by a video call with the reporter on the other end.

"Nice try Clark. The attempt was appreciated," she said.

"No problem Oracle. Call me if you need anything or have anything on Luthor," he replied, hanging up. News footage of some kind of robot terrorizing Star City then replaced the video call, prompting Oracle to put a hand to her headset.

"How's work on Ivo's Amazo going?" she asked the heroes on the other end.

"It's been deconstructed and is on its way to Star Labs," Black Canary informed her ally.

"Terrific. Nightwing, do you have any squads in the area that could act as an undercover motorcade?" she inquired.

"Already one on the way," came the voice of Nightwing.

"Perfect. Excuse me, the trio just got back from patrol I need to debrief them. As always, send any other questions, comments, or requests to my phone or computer. If it's an emergency, use the urgent channel."

"You got it, Oracle," Canary and Nightwing replied, allowing her to hang up and turn to the trio.

"The Joker has been handed over to the GCPD and will be put in a holding cell until his trial, after which he will undoubtedly be returned to Arkham Asylum," Batgirl informed the Oracle, who nodded.

"Good work. Get some rest." Spoiler and Robin nodded in acknowledgement and headed out, but Batgirl was stopped by Oracle pulling her down for a hug.

"What's this for?" Cassie asked her mother.

"I'm not gonna get to do that so often when you're in Hong Kong," Jenna said, letting her daughter straighten up, though the black Kevlar clad young woman continued to kneel next to her mother.

"You said we needed more operatives in China." The woman who was once the Batgirl sighed and nodded.

"That I did. And it's times like these that I wished I spoke less."

"You wouldn't be you if you did." Jenna smiled at her daughter before they turned to see Spoiler and Robin's retreating back, the two young vigilantes holding hands as they walked.

"You're sure Spoiler's ready?" Jenna questioned her daughter, slipping back into Oracle mode.

"I am positive. Besides, when has your approval stopped her?" The dark haired older woman nodded, before ushering her daughter toward the door.

"Alright. Get some sleep. You've got work in the morning." Cassie groaned.

"Don't remind me. And you might want to consider taking your own advice."

"I've been doing this longer than anyone. I'm used to it!" Jenna cried at her daughter's retreating back.

"Almost anyone!" Cassie cried as she headed for the lift and Jenna chuckled, knowing her daughter was right. The proof was in the form of Robin John Blake taking on Terrence McGinnis in the Pit below. The younger dark haired man jumped over the older man's sweeping kick and responded with a punch to the face. John took the blow but caught the next one and used it to turn Terry around, before shoving him forward. The younger man stumbled forward but managed to regain his balance at the last second, getting back into form. John then threw a punch that Terry blocked and retaliated with two of his own, knocking the older man down. The young vigilante in training leapt atop his mentor to pin him down, though his teacher saw it coming and soon, the two were rolling across the floor trying to pin each other down. McGinnis managed to kick Blake off of him and send him across the floor, though the man landed surely on his feet and dove at him yet again. The young man flew at him, but the older caught his kick and threw him into the concrete wall, where Terry fell, nothing broken but thoroughly exhausted.

"Good work. Room for improvement, but still good," John commented as he helped Terry to his feet.

"Coming from you, that means I'm perfect," the younger man grinned cheekily.

"Don't push it, McGinnis," John warned jokingly. "Head home, your mother's probably worried sick."

"Nah. She just thinks I work the night shift here," he stated, but started heading out anyway.

"You're getting old," she called to him as started climbing the concrete steps to her level.

"Tell me that again later tonight," John smiled, kissing his wife quickly. She chuckled and they turned to watch trainees practicing and working tirelessly for the good of their city. Jenna sighed.

"Think he's ready?" she asked.

"More than I was when I first put on the cowl."

"So no?" John Blake playfully shoved his wife, who giggled and shoved him right back. Together, they looked over the teens and young adults who they'd taken under their wings, confident in the work they'd done.

* * *

The next day, while Jenna was looking over some files at home as she waited for the sun to set, the doorbell rang. This would not be an unusual occurrence in most homes, but everyone who would come to the Dawes-Blake family home either already had a key and a tendency to let themselves in or did not need a key to come in (sometimes both). So ringing the doorbell usually meant a stranger or an assassin who preferred to take the direct approach to lurking in the shadows. In either case, Jenna and the German Shepard-Great Dane mix dog at her feet were surprised, leading to Ace barking at the door to tell whomever was outside that he was there and not to be messed with, as was his master. "Down Ace," Jenna ordered, and the dog obeyed but continued to observe the door. The former vigilante used the periscope attachment to the door to see who it was, seeing an unfamiliar brunette girl who looked to be in her late teens/early twenties. Yet, while she was a stranger herself, the older brunette woman on the other side of the door recognized her almost immediately. "Might I ask who you are before I open the door?" It was more of a formality than anything, but either way, the girl seemed to understand.

"Irena Dubrovna ma'am," was what she answered with.

"That's not your real name." Not a question.

"No ma'am, but I'd rather not say it out here," the girl admitted. Jenna sighed, having gotten her confirmation, and unlocked the numerous locks and deadbolts, slid her chair back to allow the door to open, and looked over the young woman in front of her, Ace sniffing curiously behind her.

"How did you know where I live?" she inquired casually.

"Helena Bertinelli and the Zataras were very helpful." Jenna chuckled to herself at that.

"So he moved to Italy. Should've known." The two women continued to stare at each other.

"You look so much like them you know," the DA stated and the brunette girl smiled.

"And you're just like I imagined you," she replied. The corner of Jenna's mouth twitched upward and she sighed.

"Well come on in and have some tea. I'd like get to know my little sister if it's all right by you," she said, backing up again to let the young woman in.

* * *

And so Jennifer Dawes and Helena Wayne sat in the older woman's living room, having tea as the younger woman petted Ace's head in her lap.

"He's not going to be happy when he finds out," Jenna stated and Helena nodded.

"I've got about a week before he comes looking for me. He thinks I'm on a camping trip." Jenna smirked.

"I did that once. Told him I'd be back in a week, left for the entire summer."

"He told me about that. You did that every year you were in college."

"Yeah. He left me alone after the first three times I evaded him. Knew I needed the experience."

"Actually, he guessed it was kind of payback for him leaving you for seven years."

"Well… maybe it was a little bit of that," Jenna admitted, and the two daughters of the Dark Knight laughed. "So what about you? I know this isn't a courtesy call, or you would've called ahead." Helena cocked an eyebrow.

"And they call Batman the world's greatest detective."

"Someone had to teach the new guy. Got a name picked out?"

"Huntress." It was Jenna's turn to cock an eyebrow.

"Helena let you have her name?"

"She's retiring."

"Good for her," Jenna said, taking a sip of tea. And she meant it too; they weren't as young as they used to be, not as fast or as strong. It was better for them to retire and let someone else carry on the legacy. But their successors still had certain standards to meet, prompting Jenna to put down her teacup and straighten up. "But you know that I set standards for my team mates. Can you meet them?"

"I won't kill, if that's what you're worried about," Helena assured her sister. Jenna smiled.

"I figure you've got enough of him in you to balance out your mother's genes. But that's not what I meant. How well can you fight?" Helena shrugged.

"Pretty good."

"Pretty _well_," Jenna corrected, making Helena flush.

"Yes. Pretty well. He taught me basic self-defense, but I got my mom to teach me more and Huntress tutored me in the types of tech you guys use, as well as with her crossbow. I think I'm ready." Jenna raised an eyebrow again.

"We'll see."

* * *

Helena fell to the mat and rolled out of the way of Cassandra's kick that would've knocked her out if it had landed. She leaped back to her feet and got into position, surveying the current Batgirl. Cass sent a punch at her head, which she barely dodged, before responding with a blow of her own. Cassie blocked it and then swept her opponent's legs out from under her, Helena falling flat on her back as she was knocked off her feet for the umpteenth time. The young dark haired girl glanced up from the ground to see Jenna peering down at her.

"Still think you're ready?" Jenna asked, helping her younger sister up.

"Well what do you think?" Helena replied evasively. Jenna grinned.

"Good answer. I think training is only part of it: a helpful part, but still only a part. Will is the majority of where a person's power comes from. The strongest, smartest, and most promising only go as far as their will takes them. So the real question is: do you still want to do this?"

"More than anything," was the young woman's reply. So Jenna smiled and stuck out her hand to her sister, who took and shook it.

"Welcome to the team, Huntress."

* * *

"So she cried, 'I'm a hero, not a Ming vase!'" Jenna laughed out, John, Cassie, and Helena whooping with her at the dinner table. It was a week later and Helena had adapted spectacularly well to the nocturnal vigilante lifestyle. She was doing well in training and would likely soon be ready for her first night out.

"So he let her go?" Helena asked, wiping tears from her eyes.

"No. He didn't _let_ her do anything. Canary does what she wants."

"Except when you tell her not to," Cass noted as she, her father, and Helena cleared the table.

"Only for the benefit of the greater good," Jenna admitted. The doorbell rang and she maneuvered her chair to answer it. "Not following direct orders has a tendency to get people killed or hurt."

"Says the most dangerous woman in Gotham," Helena scoffed.

"_Potentially_ dangerous. I'm not the type to attack people unprovoked," Jenna said, looking through the peephole. Her eyes widened, her jaw dropped, and scooting back as fast as she could, she threw the door open and launched herself from her wheelchair on top of the dark, graying haired man with a cane who stood outside her door. John, Cassandra, and Helena rushed to the door to find Jenna slamming Bruce Wayne's head into the floor of the apartment complex hallway. Helena looked at John Blake with a raised eyebrow and he shrugged in reply.

"She comes from the school of 'do as I say, not as I do,'" he explained, watching his wife pummel his father-in-law.

"I can tell," Helena noted, watching her sister pound her father to a pulp. John Blake sighed and turned to his sister-in-law.

"Come on, we'd better keep your sister from murdering your father," he said, kneeling down to pull his wife off of his retired predecessor.


	2. Growing Up

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who's reviewed and everything, it means a lot that you stay with me after all this time. Anyway, another new character, played by Asa Butterfield. Apart from that, I think that's everything, so, hope you enjoy and please review!  
**

Growing Up

Jenna's kill-on-contact encounter with Bruce Wayne resulted in the two of them being locked in the basement Batcave of Jenna and John's apartment complex, where they were to stay until they worked things out between them to a satisfactory degree. So there they were, standing in the dim lights of the cave, Bruce nursing his split lip and slightly bloody nose with an ice pack. Jenna was glaring at the ground and Bruce had no idea how to start the discussion without getting attacked again. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, to break the silence, when Jenna muttered, "Twenty years." She looked up to face him. "Twenty years and it takes Helena running away to get you to acknowledge my existence."

"You know I couldn't visit–"

"YOU COULD'VE CALLED!" she screamed. "YOU COULD'VE WRITTEN OR EMAILED OR DONE ANYTHING OTHER THAN JUST IGNORE ME!" She started rolling her chair toward the elevator, hoping to hotwire it so that she could get away from him.

"Jenna! Jenna, wait, don't walk away from–"

"WALK!" Jenna yelled, rounding on him with a fury that made Bruce recoil ever so slightly. "Bruce, I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO WALK AWAY FROM _ANYTHING_ FOR SIX GODDAMN YEARS! I COULDN'T WALK AWAY FROM YOU EVEN IF I WANTED TO AND BELIEVE ME, _I DO_!" She swung around back toward the elevator and, taking a screwdriver from a case in her chair, popped the panel open and began fiddling with the wires.

"I wasn't sure you wanted me in your life," Bruce explained. She ignored him. "You _did_ say that you were never going to forgive me last time we met." At this, she shifted to face him again.

"You fucking idiot." He blinked. "Just because I don't forgive you doesn't mean I didn't want to see you again." She twisted around to work on the panel again.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. She ignored him again, finally managing to get the elevator doors to open. He turned to let her go up, but stopped at the last minute, putting his hand in the doors to keep them from closing. "I did come to Gotham you know. For important things: Alfred's funeral, Jason's funeral… your wedding." She blinked. "Even if you didn't see me, I was there." He let the doors close and Jenna progressed back to the surface, thinking on her father's words.

* * *

"NO! I AM DOING THIS AND YOU CAN'T STOP ME!"

"OH YOU REALLY THINK I CAN'T?"

"NO! BECAUSE NOTHING ANYONE SAYS OR DOES IS GOING TO STOP ME FROM DOING THIS!"

"I'M YOUR FATHER!"

"AND YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO SUPPORT ME!"

"AND KEEP YOU FROM MAKING THE WRONG DECISION!"

"HOW CAN THIS BE THE WRONG DECISION? YOU MET MOM THROUGH THE MASK!"

Helena and Bruce were yelling at each other like their lives depended on it, much to the annoyance of everyone currently residing in the Batcave beneath Wayne Enterprises, which they had moved the fight to at John's insistence as their neighbors had threatened to call the police less than a minute after Bruce and Helena had started arguing. But while the space was a better spot for fighting about such a volatile topic, the extra room led to the noise bouncing off the walls and driving everyone batty, especially the two dark haired women who were most used to fighting with him.

"Bruce isn't gonna win this fight," Jenna murmured to Selina as they watched the father and daughter argue while a young dark haired boy climbed over the training equipment, watched over by a young Asian woman, a blonde woman, and a young dark haired man.

"No he isn't. He hasn't won one since he hung up the cape and cowl. Say… do you think that thing is some kind of charm that renders whomever wears it almost undefeatable?" Jenna opened her mouth to reply to that but she closed it again when she thought it over.

"Actually, that might explain why I got shot more as Jennifer Dawes than Batgirl."

"Kevlar might've helped with that," Selina teased. Jenna shoved her blithely.

"You know what I mean." They watched as Helena and Bruce's fighting died down somewhat. "You were good for him. He's better than he was. He actually _apologized_ to me about not staying in contact." Selina cocked an eyebrow.

"Is that a compliment?" Jenna glowered playfully.

"Watch it Catwoman, I can still kick your ass if I want to."

"Wouldn't you need legs to kick?" Jenna shoved her stepmother and Selina just chuckled. They looked back at their family. "Are you gonna forgive him?" she asked. Jenna shook her head.

"Probably not. That doesn't mean I'm not happy to see all of you. I just… would've liked to know I had a brother and sister, before she showed up on my doorstep." Selina smiled and nodded in agreement. The shouting between Bruce and Helena suddenly stopped and the two women turned to see them hugging. They smiled, though the silence was quickly broken by Jenna's phone ringing. The DA brought it out, sighed angrily when she checked the caller ID, but answered nonetheless, snapping, "Waller, now is really not the time–"

"So help me God Dawes, if you put me on hold one more time I will roll a tank though Gotham City and blow down the Wayne Enterprises door myself!" an irate Amanda Waller yelled into the speaker. Jenna pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a migraine brewing in the back of her brain.

Nevertheless, she did not want to have to replace the Wayne Enterprises cargo door nor find out who would win in a game of Tank vs. Tumbler so she turned to her stepmother and said, "Will you excuse me for a moment?" Selina nodded understandingly and Jenna began to retreat back to her monitors, yelling, "Keep your elbows up, Misfit!" at a trainee as she went. And apparently the tendency to correct people on their fighting ran in the family, as Damian Wayne couldn't help but take every opportunity possible to criticize Tim Drake on his form.

"How did you ever become a partner to my father's successor?" Damian asked disbelievingly.

"By knowing not to criticize my superiors," Time shot back, not even bothering to glance at his critic as he practiced on the balance beam. The young black haired boy narrowed his eyes at him.

"Don't patronize me or I'll break your face," he threatened.

"Damian!" Selina called, finally stepping in and dragging her son away by the hood of his jacket.

"What? What'd I do?" he cried indignantly.

"We don't insult or threaten our relatives' allies, no matter what we think of them."

"But mother–"

"Don't you, 'but mother' me young man. Arrogance got your father's back broken by Bane, what do you think Tim could do to you?"

"Nothing, he's an amateur."

"It's weird seeing Selina as a mother," Jenna said, rolling over to Bruce, having set up a formal appointment with Waller to settle their differences.

"Imagine how I feel being a grandfather," Bruce shot back. Jenna smirked ever so slightly. She looked at Helena, who was practicing on parallel bars, possibly to work some of the aggression off.

"You and Helena come to an agreement?" Jenna inquired. He shrugged.

"Of a sort." Jenna smiled and nodded, knowing that was Batcode for "Not really, no." The two of them watched Damian getting scolded by his mother as he made faces at Tim behind her back.

"You know, Damian's kind of what I imagine a child of yours and Talia's would be like," Jenna stated. Bruce shuddered and looked at her warily.

"Don't even joke about that." She just chuckled, though the smile lessened when she saw her husband walk up to her, clad from the neck down in the Batsuit.

"They're moving the Joker to Arkham now. I'm going to oversee the transfer, make sure he doesn't try anything," John Blake said, slipping the cowl over his head.

"Ok," Jenna said, kissing him quickly. "Be careful and stay out of sight." He nodded.

"Yes ma'am." And then he took off into the night, same as always. Jenna sighed as she watched him go, part of her wishing that she could still join him, while another part reasoned that maybe it was better that she couldn't; otherwise she probably wouldn't have given it up until her dying day. Of course the peace didn't last long, as her ringing phone was eager to remind her.

"Jennifer Dawes-Blake," she answered the infernal device, trying to keep the exhaustion out of her voice.

"Ms. Dawes, I hate to ask this of you but an inmate just asked to see you," Doctor Joan Leland of Arkham Asylum informed her. Jenna narrowed her eyes.

"Who?" was all she asked, but she already knew she wouldn't like the answer.


	3. Arkham Asylum

Arkham Asylum

The Batpod shot through the woods on the outskirts of Gotham City toward Arkham Asylum, using back paths and the cover of night to conceal his presence from the GCPD. Though truthfully, most of the officers wouldn't say anything to their superiors even if they saw him, but with Commissioner Yin herself overseeing the Joker's transfer he couldn't take any chances. After hiding his mode of transportation in the brush and covering it with a camouflage tarp, the Dark Knight grappled to the roof and climbed down into the ventilation system. He crawled through the network of ducts, exiting in the Atrium of the Asylum and exited the vents, taking his place in the rafters instead, where he saw Commissioner Yin shove the Joker toward the Arkham Security Staff.

"Hey, Boltie. Love what you've done with the place," the Clown Prince of Crime grinned at the enormous man with a buzz cut.

"That's _Warden_ Bolton to you," Lyle Bolton snapped. "Boles!" Another security guard approached the Joker and dragged him toward a vertical gurney.

"Yo Frankie how's the wife and kids?" the Joker greeted.

"Shut it clown!" the guard ordered. "A lot of people really wanna talk to you." He threw the psychopath into the stretcher where he and another guard began to strap him in.

"Really, I _don't mind_ walking," the Joker told them. They ignored him, apart from yanking the binds especially tight. "Not so tight boys, you'll crease the suit."

"Get that filthy degenerate out of here," Bolton ordered and they obeyed.

"Ah, it's always nice to return to my sweet little ha-ha-hacienda," the Joker called as he was led away.

"Warden! Something's not right. I'm going with him," Commissioner Yin said and Bolton nodded. And so she joined the escort, with the Batman following them from the rafters.

"New patient in the intensive treatment lobby," the PA announced as the parade entered the advanced security scanner.

"Yknow, I preferred the good old cavity search. Much more personal," the Joker smiled as the group was scanned.

"Scan's green on Joker," the operator stated and the door opened and they steered Joker toward the elevator, passing a group of Jokerz who were being herded in the opposite direction.

"Joker, Joker, Joker!" one of them chanted.

"Shut up!" the guards warned.

"How ya doin', boss?" another asked.

"I said SHUT IT!" the man repeated, knocking the thugs with his gun.

"I'm telling you, the state of the wiring in these federal facilities is shocking. My boys over there could have been hurt in that… _unfortunate_ fire," the Joker mourned. Batman narrowed his eyes; one of the Joker's _many _issues was narcissism. He had a tendency to reveal a part of his plans to taunt people. And if the Joker needed his goons at Arkham for whatever he was planning, it had to be something big. The elevator dinged opened and the entourage entered, the Batman following them by slipping on top of the cab though the air vents. "Wee! Great night for a party," the Joker celebrated as the lift lowered them to the enclosures below.

"Not where you're going," Yin shot back.

"The night is young, Commish. I still have a trick or two up my sleeve. I mean, don't you think it's a little bit funny how a fire at Blackgate caused hundreds of my crew to be moved here?"

"I thought I told you to stay quiet!" Boles shouted.

"Oh Frankie, you really should learn to keep that fat mouth of yours shut. It'll get you into trouble," the Joker lowered his voice dangerously.

"All prisoners are to keep away from Blackgate Penitentiary transfers," Lyle Bolton's pre-recorded gruff voice warned from the PA system. "Their presence in our institution is–" The Joker cackled as the lights went out and the PA system stopped.

"What's he doing?"

"Stay where you are!"

"Get a flashlight! Get a light on him!" the guards all ordered, trying not to panic. The lights came back on to reveal the Commissioner jamming her gun into the madman's throat, Batman nodding in approval above them unbeknownst to them.

"Their presence in our institution is temporary. Again, all Blackgate prisoners are considered dangerous and are not to be approached," Lyle Bolton's voice ordered as the electricity turn on the speakers again.

"Gah… What? Don'tcha trust me?" he gasped out as Yin removed her gun. She didn't answer but narrowed her eyes as the elevator dinged at their arrival.

"Our guest has arrived," the Intensive Treatment ward guards said as the elevator doors opened.

* * *

Jenna Dawes rolled her wheelchair into the darkened room barely lit by one overhead light that left the other seated occupant of the room mostly obscured in shadow. Taking a deep breath, Jenna moved her chair to the other side of the table where Harley Quinn was playing Solitaire.

"Hello." Harley didn't even look up from her game. "You wanted to talk?" Still no answer. Jenna continued nonetheless, as they needed to talk. "I've been thinking lately. About you and me. About what's going to happen to us in the end." Silence. "We're going to kill each other, aren't we? Perhaps you'll kill me. Perhaps I'll kill you. Perhaps sooner. Perhaps later." Harley still didn't even acknowledge the DA and Jenna felt her fury peak. Harley Quinn had tried to kill her a total of forty-two times over the past six years, which more than doubled the number of assassination attempts Jenna had received in the rest of her DA career. And now she wouldn't even talk about the possibility of change. So when she clicked down another card on the table, Jenna lost patience and grabbed her hand. "Are you listening to me? It's life and death that I'm discussing here." Harley pulled her arm back and rubbed it. "Maybe my death… maybe yours. I don't fully understand why ours should be such a fatal relationship, but I don't want your murder on my… hands…" Jenna stopped when she noticed that when she had grabbed Harley's arm, she had rubbed concealer off of a tattoo hidden underneath. Ever since she had become Oracle, the brown haired former vigilante had made it her business to know everything about every criminal in Gotham. And while Harley had tattoos, none of them were on her arm and were of the Gotham Rogues logo. So she lunged across the table, almost falling out of her wheelchair, and pulled 'Harley' into the light.

"Hey! What're ya doin'! I got rights! I…" the imposter stopped when Jenna's glare darkened, realizing she'd been conned.

"WHERE IS SHE?" Jenna yelled and the fake-Harley screamed. Arkham guards and Dr. Joan Leland suddenly burst into the cell.

"That's enough! You harm one hair on my patient's head and–" Leland stopped as Jenna tore off the actress' blonde pigtail wig.

"Here, Doctor. You're so concerned, then take it." She handed the wig to the shocked doctor and turned back to the trembling idiot. "Now, you insignificant little cretin, I will only ask you once, _nicely_: WHERE IS SHE!"

* * *

"Intensive treatment lower floors are now at level Red Alpha," the PA announced as the guards rolled the Joker out of the lift and through the security gate. Yin moved to follow but was stopped by a guard.

"Sorry Commissioner, only Arkham employees beyond this point," he said. She frowned but nodded and just watched the transaction through the thick glass observation windows.

"Don't worry, Commish; you're _always_ welcome here," the Joker cooed as they released him and shoved him forward. "Gotta say, it's good to be back." Yin and the Batman both frowned. Something wasn't right. The Joker suddenly tripped and fell to his knees.

"Get up now!" the guard shouted and the Joker's grin widened maliciously. He then shot up, maneuvered around the guard, and wrapped his cuffs around the man's neck, the doctor trying desperately to free his coworker.

"The Joker's loose. Alert the Warden!" Yin commanded as the Arkham staff raced to get security measures online. The Batman then dove out of the air vent and into the room, hoping he could stop this before it truly started.

"You!" Yin yelled as she spotted him, drawing her gun, only for the Batman to throw a batarang and knock the weapon form her grasp, before pounding all his weight on the glass as it creaked and cracked. Yin picked up her gun and the batarang that had knocked it from her grasp but decided against using either weapon; as much as she hated the Batman, the Joker was far more dangerous to Gotham's immediate health and future. So she tucked the batatrang away and started to shoot the glass in hopes of helping him get to the nightmare of Gotham.

"Hurry, we're losing him Doc!" the Joker giggled from behind the glass as the doctor tried to save the dying man. The crazed clown then threw the body of the guard on the doctor and leaned in close to the corpse's face. "The choke's on you," he smiled. He then danced around, free of his cuffs, before pointing and winking at a security camera. "Tada! Honey, I'm home!"

"Come on in, sweetie!" came Harley's voice over the PA system as the security gate opened. The Batman broke through the glass at last, but too late to stop the Clown Prince of Crime from running through the security gate on the other side and slamming it shut behind him.

"Welcome to the madhouse, Batman! I set a trap and you sprang it gloriously! Now let's get this party started," he declared, running further into the Asylum.

"System's jammed! We're stuck in here! Joker's got full control of the security gates!" Yin cried. The Batman grit his teeth; he'd been worried about this. And now all of Arkham was at the Joker and Harley's mercy.

* * *

"What in the world is going on?" Joan Leland cried, having heard Harley over the PA system. Jenna just released the swine she'd been interrogating and started to roll her chair out of the room.

"Harley, and probably the Joker, have taken over the Arkham Security Systems, meaning they're in control of the Asylum," she explained as the disoriented doctor and guards followed her.

"So where are we going?" Joan asked.

"I'm going to find a secure room. You're welcome to join me. Oh, and might I have my personal effects back?" Jenna inquired as to the security men. One nodded and handed her back her handbag.

"Don't know why you'd need this stuff, but sure," he said.

"You'd be surprised as to what I need in my line of work," the DA chuckled before swiveling her chair around and heading back for the main cells.

"How can you be so calm?" Dr. Leland inquired.

"I was here and fifteen-years-old the first time there was a mass breakout from Arkham. Needless to say, I'm used to it." They stopped as a group of Jokerz appeared at the end of the hall.

"There they are! Get 'em!" the goons shouted, rushing at them. The guards immediately fired their guns with rubber bullets at them but they brought out riot shields that they'd somehow gotten ahold of and continued advancing on the group. Jenna, however, was having none of it and took out a perfume bottle and threw it over their barricade. It shattered on the ground and the liquid inside promptly turned to gas upon contact with the air and wafted toward the heads of the thugs, promptly knocking them out. The Arkham guards and doctor looked at the DA.

"That was… impressive," Joan Leland complimented unsurely.

"It's necessary for me," was Jenna's reply. She turned her chair toward another hallway. "Now shall we?"

* * *

The Batman moved to get back into the ventilation system but stopped when he heard a gun cocking behind him. He sighed internally; he did _not_ have time for this. Nevertheless, he turned to face the Commissioner.

"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded.

"To stop the Joker."

"If you think you're leaving me here to stand on the sidelines, you're an idiot. Commissioner Gordon may have let you off a leash, but I'm not him."

"Believe me, I know that," the Batman grit out but headed for the security gates instead, as she would have difficulty navigating the ducts. He tried hacking the panel that kept the door locked but quickly realized it was futile; Jenna had always been the hacker.

"Here, let me try," Yin said, kneeling down and beginning her work.

"Having a little trouble up there?" the Joker said over a monitor as the Commissioner attempted to hotwire the security gates.

"Joker!" Batman shouted.

"You were expecting maybe Two-Face?" the madman smiled.

"There's no escape Joker."

"Silly Bat! I don't wanna escape! I'm having too much fun. I even have you here to keep a smile on my face."

"Not for long," the Bat growled.

"Really? We'll see. Tata!" The screen went dark and the Batman moved to leave and find another way out, only for the screen to illuminate again. "Oh and I forgot to say: Just in case you were planning on following me, I've arranged a little insurance." And up popped footage of Jokerz heading toward a gaggle of guards, Doctor Leland, and… Jenna. "I believe you know District Attorney Jenny Dawes?" He grit his teeth. "I'll take that as a yes. Now if I see you trying to follow me, she dies. _Harley_ is looking forward to it. Maybe I'll film it and post it on the Internet." The screen went black again, this time for good and the security gate swung open. The Bat sighed; nothing else to it, he had to save her.

"You know it's a trap right," Yin pointed out, standing up.

"Of course it is," he replied but started heading for the Security Control Center. She followed, covering his back. However, in spite of the supposed break out currently ongoing, they came across no prisoners or Arkham staff.

"This is way too easy," Yin reminded him as they finally made it to the Security Control Center. The Batman didn't acknowledge her but agreed internally. They saw someone in the shadows of the room.

"You! Step into the light!" the Batman yelled. Whoever it was ignored him. "I said–" He dove atop the figure, only for his head to meet stone. Disoriented, he saw Yin pull the sheet off of the body to reveal a stone stature likely taken from the Arkham Gardens. He and Yin both cried out upon feeling pain in their backs in the form of arrows, no doubt with some kind of poison. They both turned to face Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, the former of whom was carrying a compact crossbow. The Batman got out a batarang and the Commissioner raised her gun.

"Oh no you don't!" Harley cried, kicking the weapons out of both of their hands and then knocking them back. The two law enforcers' vision started to fade, the last sight they saw being the two villainesses descending down on them.


	4. A Serious House on A Serious Earth

**A/N: This chapter has nothing to do with the Batman graphic novel "A Serious House on A Serious Earth." I just thought it would be ironic considering the chapter. Also, I have the new vigilante's suits on my profile if you want to take a look. I'll have descriptions in the next chapter if you don't though. Anyway, hope you enjoy and please review!  
**

A Serious House on A Serious Earth

Ellen Yin cursed in frustration, her attempts to escape the cell she was currently incarcerated in proving futile. She decided to ambush whomever came in next, only for the door to open before she could get into position.

"Welcome to Arkham, Yin," a green suited man said, steeping into the room.

"Riddler," she spat, before throwing him against the wall, ready to pound him into a pulp.

"I wouldn't bother if I were you," the psychotic narcissist warned as more Jokerz and Harley Quinn filed in, flicking their blades and gripping their bats threateningly. She scowled but let him go.

"You're going to escape?" she inquired.

"Eventually. First, we have a little legal business to settle," he said, swinging his golden question mark cane around. Yin raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"A trial. Me the prosecutor, you the defense, and your client…" the Riddler snapped his fingers and a black mass wrapped in a straightjacket was dragged in and dropped at her feet, "is Batman."

"We were gonna have the DA here as your consultant, but _someone_ let her get away," Harley said, sending a pointed look at a bulking pale bald thug in a red shirt and black pattached overalls.

"Boss, come on!" the thug complained. "She's a fuckin' cripple, we thought–"

"You thought she'd be easy pickin'. And ya idiocy cost us a chance to get a rid of the three branches of Gotham's law enforcement!" Harley yelled, making all the Jokerz cringe.

"We swear Boss, it won't happen again!" the red clad thug assured her.

"Damn right it won't," Harley told him, pulling out a gun. The Jokerz all stepped back.

"No, Boss, please!" he cried. She pulled the trigger… and a "BANG!" flag came out the end. Harley giggled.

"Relax Bonk. I was only joking." He loosened up, only for Harley to pull the trigger and send the flagpole into his chest. "Oops. I guess I wasn't," she shrugged, tossing the gun to the side, the Jokerz scooting as far away from it as they could. "Clean up the mess kiddos. I've got a trial to get ready fa!" She skipped out of the room, the Jokerz dragging their fallen comrade's corpse out with them.

* * *

"This is insane. _Me_ defending _you_? As far as I'm concerned, you belong in here with _them_," Yin yelled at the Batman when he woke up.

"Whatever. You've got to go through with it. It's their game and their rules," he said.

"Oracle to Batman. Come in, Batman, do you read me?" Oracle's voice came in on the communication channel. Batman sighed internally; that meant that wherever she was, she was safe. And across the Asylum, barricaded in an office with the Arkham staff she'd sought sanctuary with, who were now unconscious thanks to another of her subtler gas bombs, she was indeed safe.

"Loud and clear Oracle. I'm here with the Commissioner, the inmates got us locked up," he responded, Yin looking at him oddly.

"They haven't killed you?" She sounded confused but thankful. It was barely there (she was good at keeping her emotions in check while on duty), but years of marriage made him an expert at telling these kinds of things.

"No. They're waiting for after the trial."

"… Say what now?"

"Trial. They're putting me on trial for creating them… and the Commissioner is in charge of my defense."

"My God! Are they crazy enough to try that?" She paused. "What am I saying? You've gotta get out of there!"

"Working on it," he said, working his lock-picks out of his gloves and into his hands so he could get free of the jacket. "Have you contacted our _other_ partners?"

"I'm having trouble setting up a secure channel, but give me time and I will."

"Either that or they're listening to the police scanner and/or the news and will know soon enough."

"Likely. Either way we just have to buy you guys time for them to get there."

The door opened and Killer Croc came in with the Riddler and Mad Hatter. "Let's go. Move it!" Croc ordered, yanking Batman to his feet and shoving him forward.

"Indeed, can't keep the judge waiting," Mad Hatter chimed, leading Yin.

"You said it yourself, lady. Batman made every one of us," Croc growled.

"So, we're placing him before the bar to face our justice."

"And me?" she prodded.

"Basic fifty-fifty option. You get him off, you both go free. He goes down, you take the fall with him." She nodded; she'd figured as much. She didn't _like _it, but she'd expected it.

"Amusing idea, what? Kidnapping you to be Batman's attorney?" the Hatter laughed.

"Personally, I suggested a quick bullet between the eyes… but I lost the card game," Riddler shrugged.

"I borrowed your belt bats, but it doesn't do a thing for me," Harley smiled, swinging around.

"Sit down," Croc bellowed, pushing Batman into a chair. The inmates were screaming and shouting obscenities at the top of their lungs at the Bat as the bailiff in the form of a thin graying haired man stepped forward.

"Oyez, oyez," a now much older Jonathan Crane ordered. The group kept yelling. The former psychiatrist sigh, took his glasses off, and fired a gun at the ceiling. "I said oyez, ingrates!" They quieted. "Court is now in session! The Good People of Arkham Asylum vs. the self-righteous vigilante called Batman! Our prosecutor is ready, likewise our fair and impartial jury!" he stated, motioning to the Rogues' Gallery seated to the side.

"Hang him!" Clayface hooted.

"Shoot him!" Harley howled.

"Off with his head!" Hatter cried.

"And now, all rise for the most honorable, most benevolent, most merciful Judge Joker!" the Scarecrow smiled sinisterly, and the crowd cheered as the Joker waltzed out in judge's robes and a wig.

"Guilty!" he deemed, slamming his gavel down. Yin, however, would not go down without a fight, and stood defiantly against the assembled Arkham Inmates.

"I was promised a chance to defend my client!" she reminded the court and the Joker sighed.

"Oh, very well. Like it'll make a difference. Mr. Prosecutor, make your opening statement." Riddler stepped forward, shoes clicking against the hard floor of the room and turned to the assembled mass.

"Look at us," he told the court. "All of us; freaks and monsters. And who made us this way? Batman!" The congregation roared with approval and the Riddler smirked at the Commissioner. "Go on Miss Yin, defend him, if you can. Call the first witness," he instructed, stepping back.

"Hatter, you're up on the stand!" the Joker called. The mad milliner with a predilection for all things Lewis Carroll stepped to the stand. "Proceed, counselor," the Joker grinned and Yin stood and approached the mind-controlling criminal.

"I suppose you, like your friends, claim that Batman 'drove' you to be a criminal?" she inquired.

"He did," Hatter nodded sadly.

"And yet, as I recall your case, you brainwashed and kidnapped a little girl, as well as Black Canary, before "

"He created _them_ and they forced me to do it! They were going to take Alice away from me, I had no choice!" he defended.

"You could have respected her wishes and let her go," she pointed out.

"I'D HAVE KILLED HER FIRST!" Yin raised a triumphant eyebrow. "Oops!" The little man in the top hat hurried over to the judge. "I'd like that last statement stricken from the record please." The Joker frowned and blinked rapidly.

"Record? Is someone supposed to be writing this down?" the Joker asked and the horde looked to each other, not entirely sure. Yin held her head and sat down next to the Batman.

"This is crazy," she sighed, massaging her temples.

"That's beside the point," the Batman reminded her. "Just keep it going."

* * *

"Guys, there's a red light at Arkham," Stephanie said, checking the police scanner in the Batcave.

"What?" Terry, Tim, Cassie, and Helena said, hurrying over to her.

"The GCPD are headed down there. They think there's some kind of breakout or riot and the Commissioner's down there," she told them.

"As is Batman," Terry noted.

"And Jenna," added Cassie.

"WHAT?" they all cried. They knew she was gone but they hadn't known where.

"Yeah. She got a call from the Asylum that Harley wanted to talk to her."

"She'll never give up on her," Tim shook his head.

"It's her nature Drake," Terry said, before heading for the vaults. "Come on, we'd better get over there before things get too out of hand."

* * *

"I object to this witness! She's obviously trying to influence the judge," Yin insisted. The Joker looked up from his place lying across the bench with his head in Harley's lap, while she stroked his hair.

"What makes you say that?" he queried, straightening up. Yin closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Never mind. Do you have a statement?" she asked exhaustedly.

"I just wanna say, if there was no Batman, there'd be no Joker, and I'd have never met my Puddin'. Thank you, Batman," she sighed and he glared at her.

"Sad, isn't it," the Commissioner lamented. "Matilda Quinzel was a promising criminal psychology student at Gotham University until the Joker twisted her mind."

"Ha! You're just jealous because you don't have a fella who's as lovin' and loyal to you as my Puddin' is to me!" The Joker smiled and blew his girl a kiss, making her swoon like a schoolgirl. Yin nodded and grinned thoughtfully.

"Ah-ha. And I suppose it was that same "loyalty" I saw the last time you escaped and "Puddin'" here…" the Joker shot up and made a cutting motion across the neck, but Yin ignored him, "finked on you in hopes of getting time off!" Harley turned to her fella.

"Is that true, Puddin'?" she smiled sweetly, though anyone who'd spent three seconds in a room with her could see that she was about to draw blood and not her own. The Joker chuckled nervously.

"'Finked' is such an ugly word…" he defended, only for Harley to grab him by his robes and shake him for all he was worth.

"You lousy, scum sucking creep!" she shrieked.

"The witness is excused!" he ordered and the masses crowed as Killer Croc attempted to pull the enraged harlequin off of the judge.

"You slimy rat!" she screeched, holding to the Joker with all her surprisingly sizable might.

"Hey knock it off, Quinn!" Croc ordered, finally pulling her off of him and lugging her out.

"I'll kick that grin off your silly face!" she threatened as she was dragged out of the room, the Joker sighing with relief as she left.

* * *

The five newly suited young vigilantes headed for the platform that held their cycles and the spare Batmobile, ready to head out and help their mentors.

"Where are you all going?" demanded a voice and they all turned to see Damian surveying them with a raised eyebrow.

"None of your business, Damian," Huntress snapped, getting on a violet and black motorcycle with the team of vigilantes.

"Dad said you're not allowed out with them," Damian reminded her.

"Dad's not here," Huntress reminded him. He was busy training new recruits with their mom over in one of the other Batcaves.

"Not yet," Damian reminded her in a threatening way. Helena's jaw dropped and glared at her sibling.

"Why you little–"

"Take me with you and I can't squawk," he stated.

"You don't even have any armor." He smiled mischievously at his older sister, who groaned in response. "You have got to be kidding me."

* * *

"And so it's Batman's fault you lead a life of crime?" Yin repeated.

"He should have let me bump off Oliver Queen. We'd all have been better off," Ivy shrugged.

"But Ms. Isley, isn't the real motivation behind your crimes your obsession with plants and your preference to them over people?" Yin pointed out.

"I love plants, honey. But a rose is a rose," Ivy assured her and Yin nodded.

"Then it doesn't bother you when someone, let's say, the judge here, ruthlessly plucks a flower from the warm, green earth," the Asian police commissioner commented, taking a flower from the Joker's lapel.

"_No_," Ivy replied unconvincingly.

"Even knowing that he's given it his death sentence, that its petals must _die_," Yin emphasized, plucking the petals off the stem.

"Stop it," Ivy grit out, but Yin ignored her.

"One by one, withering, falling, one by one until it's all gone. _Honey_," she remarked, tearing the flower to bits. That did it for Ivy, who flung herself at the police commissioner and wrestled her to the ground, forcing both Killer Croc and Clayface to come up to drag the two women apart.

"Ivy, calm down!" Clayface tried to tell her, but she ignored him and tried harder than ever to murder the plant killer.

"You're beautiful when you're angry," Scarecrow complimented her as she was dragged out. She kicked him and he rubbed his jaw painfully. Meanwhile, Yin got up from the floor and pushed back her tangled hair out of her face to make her final statement.

"I used to believe Batman was responsible for you people but now I see nearly everyone here would have ended up exactly the same, Batman or not. Oh, the gimmicks might be different, but you'd all be out there in some form or another that brings misery to Gotham. The truth is, you created him," she said, gesturing to the black Kevlar clad vigilante whom she had been wanting to see in court for six years, only to find herself defending him instead.

* * *

"I can't believe we're bringing him along. He hasn't had any real training or anything," Huntress said as she drove down Gotham's streets toward the Asylum.

"I've had more training than you, sister dearest," the young Robin smiled from the passenger's seat of the Batmoblie, which he had wanted to drive himself, but that had been where Terry put his foot down.

"Bullshit," the black and violet clad vigilante spat.

"Hey. No cursing in front of the kid," Batman reprimanded.

"Oh, so I can't curse but we can bring him to an asylum for the criminally insane full of Gotham's most dangerous criminal masterminds," she sassed as they pulled up in front of the Asylum.

"That's because he's going to be staying in the car, out of harm's way," he told her.

"What! You can't make me–" He stopped when the third Batman slapped a pair of cuffs on one of his wrists and the interior of the Batmobile. "Hey!" the kid cried indignantly but the Batmobile cockpit closing shut cut off the rest of his protest.

"I like the way you think McGinnis," Huntress smiled.

"That's Batman to you, young lady. Now come on, let's get this show on the road."

* * *

"Jury you've heard the evidence. Consider your verdict," the Joker order. Yin stood over the Batman and clutched the back of his chair in anticipation.

"Your Honor, in light of Commissioner Yin's stirring defense, we have no choice but to find the defendant… not guilty." The commissioner stiffened and looked to the Batman absolutely shocked.

"I'll be damned," she said. He didn't reply; if anything, he looked grimmer.

"Well done, counselor," the Joker congratulated. "You've proven that Batman didn't create us. That we in fact messed up our own rotten lives. And as we are so rotten, vile and depraved… we're going to waste you anyway!" Everyone roared and cackled with mirth at Yin's crushed face, which was wiped away by Harley and Ivy grabbing her and dragging her toward the door. "A-bi, a-bi, a-bi, that's all, folks!" the Joker closed, slamming down his gavel. "Let's mambo!" And so the dead man's march started as Croc and Clayface pulled a resisting Batman out of the room and past cells occupied by the remains of Arkham's guards, doctors, and Warden. Slowly, the procession made its way into a large room… with an electric chair in the middle. Croc and Clayface forced the struggling Bat into it, as all the villains and the captive commissioner came in behind them.

"Let me go!" Yin cried, only for the two villainesses to do just that and push her to the ground.

"Anything ya say, Miss Commish!" Harley grinned, joining the Joker at his place to the Batman's right.

"And now the final confession, the big secret you've kept hidden for so many years… Brothers and sisters, at long last I give you, the man behind the Bat!" he declared, picking up a baseball bat and raising it to crack the graphite cowl no doubt. Yin looked around for something, anything she could use to help, but they'd done their work well. There was nothing. She frowned when she felt something in her pocket. It was the batarang she'd pocketed earlier. Acting quickly while praying for just one good shot, she threw it at the light above the group of gangsters. It shattered, plunging the room into darkness. The felons shouted in surprise, ordering someone to get a light on the Bat. Finally, the Riddler brought out a lighter and cast its glow on the now empty electric chair.

"He's gone. Everyone spread out! Don't let him get away!" the Riddler cried.

"Who says I'm leaving?" a foreboding voice echoed around the room, making everyone, even Commissioner Yin, shiver. There came a muffled cry from somewhere in the room and everyone turned to try and find out who among their number had fallen prey to the Bat.

"What's going on?"

"Get the light!"

"Nobody panic!" the Riddler ordered them, knowing that the more they panicked the better chance they had of getting beaten by the Bat. But when everyone turned to find Harley Quinn dangling from the ceiling, strapped in Batman's straightjacket, he knew it was futile.

"OK… start panicking," the Joker said, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"The only way out is through me!" Croc growled moving to block the door. But the Batman apparently had no problem with that as he then attacked the cannibal from the shadows and started wrestling him to the ground. The Joker promptly took Scarecrow's gun and leveled it at the battle duo.

"Hold on, you'll hit Croc!" Scarecrow shouted.

"What's your point?" was the Joker's response. He then opened fire on the pair, who both ducked as the bullets flew above them. The Bat rolled to the ground and ran for cover, causing the Joker to direct the stream of lead in his direction, almost hitting Harley in the process. She glared at him through her gag and he smiled sheepishly in an almost apology.

"Watch where you're shooting clown!" Croc shouted.

"Wouldn't have to if you'd just moved," Joker smiled back. Yin almost gasped when a hand slipped into her own, but was able to stop herself when she saw it was the Batman, he softly yet swiftly led her out while the convicts were busy fighting amongst themselves. They slipped out and ran to find safety, only to find Jokerz and Arkham inmates chasing them and finally cornering them in the cafeteria, the Rogues filing in behind them.

"Hold it! Nobody move!" the Riddler demanded. Yin and Batman glanced at each other.

"Hold onto me," the Bat commanded silently and she obeyed without protest. He shot his grappling gun through the skylight and they rocketed through the roof.

"After them!" the Rogues cried, climbing the stairs to the roof as fast as they could. They were ending that man tonight; that much they knew.


	5. Showtime

Showtime

The Batman and Commissioner Yin clambered onto the roof after having shot through the glass skylight of Arkham Asylum's cafeteria and moved to the edge of the roof, ready to make their escape. The door to the roof banged open behind them and the Rogues Gallery sauntered out, weapons trained on the Bat and Cop.

"End of the line Batbrains," the Joker smiled. Yin and Batman nodded to each other ready to go down fighting, when they heard a noise behind them. They turned to find five grappling hooks attached to the roof behind them and the next thing they knew, five bat-like shapes flew up those lines and landed in front of the two, shielding them from harm.

"Back off bozos!" a new Batman with the lower half of his face left exposed by his cowl painted black and a red Bat symbol on his chest ordered, retracting his wings as he straightened up. Next to him, a blonde Batgirl in violet Kevlar, the woman who had been Batgirl now dressed in a similar black suit with white bands around her wrists and half face mask that left her hair exposed, a young man with a bird-like cowl dressed in red, and a young woman in black and amethyst armor with a crossbow stood tall in front of the second Batman and the current Commissioner. The Rogues faltered when the new players stepped in, except for Harley and the Joker, who just smiled gleefully.

"Ah, a new boy!" the Clown Prince of Crime exclaimed. He put a hand to his chin as he surveyed the new Batman. "Hmmm… the ears are too long and I miss the cape, but it's not too shabby. Not too shabby at all. Harley?" Harley flipped toward the Batman and started throwing her all at him, which he dodged and countered with his in turn.

"Batman, get the Commissioner out of here. Black Bat, go find Oracle. We'll handle them," the new Batman commanded. The older Batman and Black Bat nodded, the older man grabbing the commissioner and grappling down the side of the building to the ground below, the younger woman diving through the skylight into the asylum below. The Rogues, regaining their confidence with the decreased numbers charged at the three uncoupled fighters: a violet colored blonde Batgirl, a young man in a red suit with a black bird like cowl, and a new girl in a black suit with violet armor overtop.

"I'll rip you apart, eat your bones, Little Bat," Killer Croc grunted, diving at Batgirl, who rolled out of the way and launched a batarang at him. It hit him in the neck and he growled, brought his fists down where the female Bat had been a moment before, not noticing the small disks she was leaving in her wake.

"And who might this pretty little flower be?" Ivy smiled at the new young vigilante.

"You can call me The Huntress… after all you are my prey! And I always get what I hunt!" she declared, firing a blunt tipped arrow at the seductress who blocked it with her own compact crossbow. The brunette young woman leaped on the older red head, who brought out a knife, and the two wrestled, trying to gain the upper hand on one another, as Clayface lobbed knife after knife at Red Robin.

"Try all you want kid. I'm gonna hit you eventually," Clayface derided.

"Keep telling yourself that," Red Robin told him, ducking under yet another blade.

* * *

Thugs hammered on the door to the safe room Oracle and the Akrham staff she'd been with had been hiding out in. Jenna glanced nervously at the door and brought out her collapsible batons; she may not be as mobile as she once was, but she would go down fighting. The Jokerz then broke down the door and strode into the room toward the DA. She blocked one goon's punch and struck him across the face with her club, before knocking the air out of him and sending him sprawling to the floor. She knocked another's chin toward the ceiling and. But the swarm quickly overwhelmed her and knocked her out of her chair to the ground. Even from the floor, she tried to beat their legs with her weapons, but the Jokerz pinned her arms down and readied to finish it. A noise stopped them and they turned to find Black Bat knocking out their brothers and sister with alarming speed and force. The gang quickly descended on the new opponent, but she dodged their blows and delivered her own with ease. Soon, they were all

"Mom!" Cassie cried and Jenna spread her arms wide open, allowing her daughter to be engulfed in her embrace.

* * *

Batgirl leaped over Croc's head and shot her Taser at him. Electricity sparked up his spine, but he shrugged it off like a fly and pulled the wires of with a grin. "Ain'tcha heard? Crocodiles got real tough hide! But you… you got nowhere t'hide…" he sneered. Batgirl responded by bringing out and activating the small explosives she'd surrounded Killer Croc in while she was avoiding his blows. His eyes widened and she pressed the trigger, activating the explosives under his feet. The roof gave way beneath him and he feel into the Asylum below, bruised and beaten but not dead. She sighed in relief, but her break didn't last long, with the Mad Hatter approaching her moments after she finished.

"ALICE! I knew you'd come back to me!" the Mad Hatter cried.

"Not in the way you're thinking, Hatter," Batgirl spat with more venom than any of the others had ever heard out of her, before kicking him across the face. He tried to bring out his mind-altering drugs, the very same ones he'd tried to use on Stephanie Brown as a child, but she knocked the vials out of his hands, elbowed him across the face, and brought his face down on her knee, before punching his lights out.

Huntress finally finished off Poison Ivy with a punch across the face, only to turn and get a face full of fear toxin. Coughing, she batted away the gas and found herself face to face with the Scarecrow.

"Scream. Or I will _**make**_ you scream," Scarecrow threatened, looming over the disoriented vigilante. She stumbled around, trying to get a grip, before straightening up and glaring at him. He faltered. "How… how are you still standing? How come it's not affecting you?"

"Who says it's not?" Huntress grit out, clenching her fist. Scarecrow smiled behind his mask.

"I knew it. What is it like? What are you seeing?" Huntress responded by punching him across the face, kneeing him in the stomach, tearing off Scarecrow's mask, and spitting "Nothing I can't handle," in his face before slamming her head into his own and knocking him unconscious. Batgirl was instantly next to her reeling teammate, administering the antidote she carried in her belt.

"We'll have to make sure you have a stock before your next encounter with him," the blonde Bat said as the dark-haired girl relaxed.

"That would be nice," Huntress agreed, slipping to the ground. Batgirl dragged her away from the fight as Red Robin darted around Clayface, searching for an opening. The young vigilante flipped over the former actor and shot him with the Taser. This time, it worked and Clayface screamed and went down, twitching from the attack. The Joker just sighed and shook his head, looking at the sorry remains of his allies.

"Boy, they sure don't make psychotic criminals like they used to. Oh well. Fun while it lasted. See ya round, kiddies," the Joker said, climbing over the roof and fleeing the scene. The Batman moved to go after him, but Harley slammed him with her bat and knocked him away from her Puddin. Red Robin and Batgirl leaped to their leader's side, ready to fight again.

"We got Harley, you take care of the Joker," Batgirl told the Batman, who nodded and took off after the fleeing Clown Prince of Crime.

"Oh lookie, the little Robin's all grown up," Harley taunted, hitting her bat against his bo staff.

"It's Red Robin now," he replied, knocking her back.

"Yum!" Harley teased, back flipping away from the dynamic duo.

* * *

The Joker sauntered away from the fighting, ready to climb down to the parking lot and make his getaway, only for the Batman to drop in out of nowhere and block his way.

"Hold it!" the new Batman demanded. The Joker sighed.

"Wise up, junior, GAME'S OVER!" he yelled.

"I'm taking you in!" Batman maintained.

"Oh, are you?" The Joker slapped Batman, which would've hurt a lot less if he hadn't been wearing a joy buzzer that sent a shock of energy through his body. "You're out of your league, Batboy. I know every trick the original Bats knew at their peaks."

"Maybe. But you don't know a thing about me," Batman said, getting to his feet. The psychopath cackled with mirth.

"_YOU?_ What's to know? You're a kid. An _amateur_. A little puppet on a string for the Bat to play with at will. Still, if it's a whopping you're a-wantin'…" the Joker shrugged, rolling up his sleeves. The Batman smirked.

"Let's dance, bozo." He pounced on the Joker, who grabbed a nearby branch and swung it at the Dark Knight, who jumped off. The Joker leaped to his feet and threw the branch at the vigilante. He ducked and the jacked up jester charged at him. He aimed a blow at the other man's head and dodge Batman's blow when his own failed to land. The duo continued to exchange and block blows, Joker's mostly being the ones that landed, before the Bat flipped back to avoid further punishment. "Oracle, are you there? If you are, I'm fighting the Joker and could use some help. Any suggestions, boss?" Terry inquired over the channel.

"Joker's vain and likes to talk. He'll try to distract you, but don't listen. Block it out and power on through," Oracle suggested as Black Bat cleared their pathway to freedom of the clown infestation of Arkham, freeing the Arkham staff from their cells along the way. Terry's eyes widened.

"Wait… I like to talk too…" The Harlequin of Hate and the Dark Knight continued their exchange of kicks and punches, until the Bat kneed his enemy in the gut.

"What're you doing?" the Joker wheezed.

"Fighting dirty."

"The REAL Batman would never–" The Joker was cut off by Batman pushing his knee in further into the Joker's diaphragm.

"Told you ya didn't know me." He shoved the Joker back.

"Funny guy…" he chuckled.

"Can't say the same for you." The Ace of Knaves charged again, only for the Caped Crusader to leap over him and use his back as a springboard.

"Impudent brat. Who do you think you're talking to?" the Joker shouted.

"Not a comedian, I'll tell you that."

"Shut your mouth!" the Joker yelled, drawing a pistol and firing at Batman, who retreated into the shadows.

"The real Batman never talked to you much, did he? That's probably why you were so fixated on him," the Batman's voice echoed from the dark. He tossed a batarang, knocking the gun out of Joker's hand.

"Don't play psychoanalyst with me, boy!" he screeched, nursing his hand.

"Oh, I don't need a degree to figure you out. The _real_ reason you kept coming back was you never got a laugh out of the old man."

"I'm not hearing this…" the Joker murmured, heading for the edge of the roof, only to be pulled back by Batman's line.

"Get a clue, clowny! He's got no sense of humor! He wouldn't know a good joke if it bit him in the cape… not that you ever had a good joke."

"Shut up… Shut up!" the Joker shouted, covering his ears with his hands.

"I mean, joy buzzers, squirting flowers? Lame! Where's the "A" material? Make a face, drop your pants, something!"

"Show yourself!"

"You make me laugh. But only 'cause I think you're kinda pathetic," Batman chuckled, before he really started to laugh, mirthfully, mockingly, and loudly.

"Stop that! Don't you dare laugh at me!" the Joker demanded, grabbing some grenades from the lining of his coat.

Batman just laughed harder. "Why? I thought the Joker always wanted to make Batman laugh!"

"YOU'RE NOT BATMAN!" the Joker screamed, throwing grenades at all the shadowed places he could find. One of them hit their mark and sent Batman sprawling to the roof at the Joker's feet, where the crazed clown quickly wrapped his hands around the Bat's neck and started to strangle him, laughing. "C'mon, Batfake! Laugh it up _now_, you miserable little punk! LAUGH!" Batman opened his mouth and choked out something unrecognizable. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" the Joker half screamed, half sang.

"Ha… ha," Terry choked out, grabbing onto the back of Joker's neck and activating the new electro-shock gloves. The Clown Prince of Crime screamed as electricity coursed up his body and after a half a minute of his electroshock therapy, he passed out and rolled off of the Batman. Terry McGinnis sighed in relief and got up, dragging the Joker back to where the rest of his team was and found all the criminals were now handcuffed and ready to be taken back down to their cells. He nodded at the younger vigilantes. "Good work." They smiled.

"Wait, where'd the Riddler go?" Red Robin asked. They looked around the unconscious mass to find no sign of him.

"Well there's only one way he could've gone down," Batman said, rushing toward the door downstairs. He threw it open and the unconscious body of the Riddler fell at his feet, a triumphant Robin standing above him.

"Couldn't let you guys have all the fun," the boy stated and the others couldn't help but smirk. Their triumph was cut off by a GCPD helicopter shinning a spotlight on them and police officers surrounding them.

"We got 'em Commissioner," a large man with a toothpick in his mouth said, gun trained on the vigilantes. Yin was quiet for a moment, surveying the group, before she held up her hand.

"Stand down, Detective," Yin told him.

"But sir–"

"That's an order, Bullock. There's no point to it anymore." The larger detective frowned but lowered his gun, as did the rest of the officers, who then hurried off to apprehend the recaptured crooks. Commissioner Ellen Yin approached the Dark Knight.

"I may have changed my mind about the mask, but don't think that gives you free reign," she warned the new Batman

"Wouldn't have it any other way," the Batman told her. The Commissioner nodded before turning back to her men. Yin's police hauled the Rogues back into the Asylum and the Bats took off into the night, having done their jobs well tonight.


	6. Epilogue

**A/N: Two years ago today, I published the first chapter of "A Series of Unfortunate Events." Now four stories, one hundred fourteen favorites, and two hundred fifty five reviews later, we met the end. I want to thank everyone who was kind enough to review, follow, favorite, or even read this story for giving me a chance and I especially want to thank those who have stuck with me since the beginning. It means the world to me and while I can never repay you or thank you enough, I can certainly try. So, to everyone, whether you came here for a story about a young girl who became a hero, a young woman who inspired others to do the same, or an older woman who passed on a legacy, I thank you for being with Jenna and I here, at the end.**

Epilogue

Helena and Damian stood in front of their mom and dad, Helena's eyes boring a hole into the ground while Damian glared defiantly at his parents. After a stifling silence, Helena sighed and looked into her father's stern face. "Dad… I know that this life is dangerous. But I believe that you and mom and Jenna and everyone has taught me well… And look at what I did today!" she proclaimed. "I went toe to toe with Scarecrow and Poison Ivy and helped stop an Arkham breakout! And who knows how many lives I helped save by doing that? I'm not going to ask for your approval, but just know that no matter what, I want to and will do this. And if you do not approve… I still hope we can see each other…I don't want to end up like you and Jenna." Bruce's frown deepened and he turned to his glaring son.

"You're not stopping me even if you chain me to my bed," Damian told him, and Helena sighed and rolled her eyes next to him.

"Nice way to get yourself grounded for life, little bro," she whispered none too softly. But Bruce just groaned and nodded.

"Alright fine. I can't say I didn't see this coming, but you are eighteen and I can't _legally _do anything to stop you, as Jenna is so fond of reminding me."

"You were the one who taught me breaking the law wasn't always bad," the brunette District Attorney chimed.

"And again, I am a bad influence on you." He sighed. "But if this is what you want, I won't stop you… nor will I ever leave you completely alone." Helena beamed at her father and threw her arms around his neck, an embrace he promptly reciprocated. "Besides, at least you've got good and talented people to work with." The former Batman nodded to the newer vigilantes over his daughter's shoulder, who smiled and nodded back in thanks.

"What about me?" Damian demanded. Helena and Bruce separated so the father could face his son.

"You're grounded for a month and are not going out in that suit again until you're eighteen," Bruce told him.

"Thirteen!" Damian corrected.

"Seventeen."

"Fourteen!"

"Sixteen."

"Fifteen!"

"Fifteen and a half!" Jenna cut in. The two Wayne men looked at her and she raised a challenging eyebrow at them. They sighed and nodded.

"Fine," they agreed and shook on it. Then Bruce slung a protesting Damian over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes, much to everyone else's amusement, and headed for the door with Selina. He stopped in front of Terry McGinnis and held out the hand not restraining his still-struggling son.

"Blake chose a good successor, McGinnis," he complimented the younger man. Terry smiled and shook the other man's hand. "Watch out for them."

"I will, sir," Terry promised and Bruce nodded, before turning his back on the group and heading back up to the world above.

* * *

A silhouette of a man with wings darted across buildings and clouds, slicing through the skies of Gotham like a knife. It flew past a police helicopter with remarkable speed causing the men inside to jump.

"Did you see that?" one cop asked the other and they both searched the skies for whatever it was.

Meanwhile, on the nearby Wayne Enterprises building, the new Batman stood, alongside Red Robin, Batgirl, and Huntress, surveying the city from above. Nodding to each other, they took off into the night, ready to spread fear into the hearts of criminals, hope into the hearts of civilians, and to make their mentors' and their legacies' proud.


End file.
